Mizuki Noguchi in Kyoto near her team office before leaving for Beijing to take part in the 2008 Olympics next month,..Mizuki Noguchi became an Olympic Marathon Champion when she won the gold medal in an epic race of Homeric proportions, full of drama. To secure the gold medal Noguchi overcame a top-class field which included world record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain, and the 2003 world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya.